1. Technical Field
Embodiments of the invention relate generally to flexible circuit devices and more particularly, but not exclusively, to structures for providing connection with a printed circuit board.
2. Background Art
In various laptop, ultrabook, tablet, smartphone and other designs, it is desirable to support electrical signaling across boards and/or in an otherwise thin form factor. Implementing such signal exchanges with flexible circuit technology has, to date, been constrained by a trade-off in device thickness (z-height). Traditional systems for coupling a flexible printed circuit (FPC) or a flexible flat cable (FFC) to a printed circuit board (PCB) include connector hardware that extends in a z-direction from the top (or bottom) surface of the PCB, thus requiring additional z-height thickness above that surface. Existing connectors require at least 0.8 mm in additional height above a PCB, and typically require at least 1.2 mm. Moreover, existing connectors usually employ single sided, high-density pinouts with less than 0.3 mm pitch and staggered fingers, which do not allow the use of low cost flexible flat cable (FFC) solutions.
Modern form factors for various types of electronic devices are trending toward very thin (low z-height) industrial designs. This severely limits the ability to incorporate existing flexible circuit devices such as FPCs or FFCs into the design of very thin and/or high density systems. As the functionality of successive generations of electronic devices continues to grow and as such generations continue to trend toward thinner form factors, there is expected to be an increasing value placed on incremental improvements in low profile connection systems.